The annual debate of the United Nations General Assembly opened Saturday almost seven weeks late and amid unprecedented security precautions.

The debate, which usually kicks off the diplomatic year in mid-September, was postponed at the request of New York authorities after the city's World Trade Center was destroyed in a terrorist attack on September 11.

"We share in the pain and grief of our host country and our host city," UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said in the opening speech.

But, he went on, world leaders must not to allow the war on terrorism to divert them from the fight against poverty, AIDS and environmental degradation.

UN officials said earlier that all of the organization’s 189 member states were expected to be represented at the debate, for the first time in history.

Delegates included at least 43 heads of state and government and 115 foreign ministers -- UNITED NATIONS (AFP)